L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 4 We still miss you: 25 years without Federico Fellini I t was All Souls' Day, and Rome had woken up under t h e r a i n . I t m a k e s y o u wonder, sometimes, the w ay N ature manages to read into the heart of the world and chooses to dress in mourn- ing to match the sorrow of her children when it's needed. It wasn't cold, in Rome, that morning. And some may have even enjoyed the melancholic, languid, poetic romanticism of a day dedicated to remembrance and love, to death and hope, sketched as it was in the silvery violet hues of an autumnal sky, if it wasn't for the piercing void left by the too-recent departure of someone the whole country admired. It was All Souls' Day, twenty five years ago, and Italy was about to say goodbye to one of his most beloved children, Fed- erico Fellini. The whole country mourned: Fellini was, and remains still today, one of our most appreci- ated contemporary artis ts , a master in his field, a recognized genius, a representative of Ital- ian creativity and art, an aesthet- ic example for many other great names of cinema. Fellini was, and remains still today, all that. But to Italy, he was something d i f f e r e n t , h e w a s s o m e t h i n g m o r e , a n d t h a t w a s w h a t a whole nation wept about, on that day. He was the one who gave post-war Italy dreamlike tales and humor; he was the one who took the newly found status of stars and starlets roaming the streets of Rome and turned it into a masterpiece of cinematic beauty; he was the one whose artistic imagery was so powerful and imitated, we had to create an adjective to define it, fellini- ano, which today is commonly used in our language. About it, once, the Maestro said: "fellini- ano… I had always dreamed to become an adjective, when I grew up." Fellini had given Italy anoth- er reason to be proud. He had been yet another incomparable name in the long list of the Bel Paese's artists: his movies had won five Oscars, in the end. On that day, the day of his funerals, the Basilica of Santa Maria deli Angeli e dei Martiri, as well as the adjacent Piazza della Repubblica, were packed with more than 100.000 people and millions sat in front of their tv screens in silence to watch l'addio a Fellini on Rai Uno, our main national public chan- nel. Cardinal Silvestrini, a per- sonal friend of Fellini's, cele- brated, the highest figures of the State and the Army were there, along w ith actors , directors , musicians and, of course, his beloved, adored Giulietta: wife of 50 years, life companion and work colleague. Frail, yet elegant and impec- cable in her dark green coat, maroon turban and large, round sunglasses, Giulietta Masina sat through the ceremony, stoically saying goodbye to the compan- ion of her entire life. It seemed only yesterday when Federico had lovingly reprehended her on stage, during the Oscar's, with that "… and Please, Giulietta, stop crying," while accepting the award for his glorious career. And, in fact, that had happened only a handful of months earlier, at the end of March. Federico Fellini and Giulietta Masina had met each other in 1942 and were married a year later. Since then, they had never separated: in life, on screen, they remained together, always. Even if Federico loved women a lot and certainly did stray here and there during the years, Giulietta remained the only woman in his life, the only important, essential person of his existence, a true memento to the real essence of love. And for Giulietta, it was the same, even if she initially wasn't impressed: "he looks like a fakir, he looks like Gandhi…he's all eyes: deep, restless, inquisitive." For Federico, on the other hand, it was love at first sight: "She is the tiniest peperino (a spark plug), I like her a lot, she makes me laugh all the time." Indeed, Masina became Fellini's own muse, who inspired much of his work: "Giulietta immediately struck me as mysterious…she brought back in me a need for i n n o c e n c e . T h e r e a r e s p e l l s , magic, visions in my work, of which Giulietta is the key: she takes my hand and brings me to places that, on my own, I would have never reached." The most beautiful of love declarations. A love that, in 1945, gave them a child, Pier Federico, who died shortly after birth. The pain was raw and it was only years after the tragedy that Masina eventually declared how "not having had children made us one another's children. This is what destiny wanted for us." And their bond was truly and unique- ly strong, so much so that no one was really surprised when, only five months after Federico's death, she left this world, too, and returned, young and with a huge smile, into the arms of her beloved husband. No one really expected Felli- ni to leave us that soon. He was Federico Fellini with Marcello Mastroianni and Sofia Loren: timeless icons of Italian art SIMONE SCHIAVINATO Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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